CINEMA TECHNOLOGY: ANALOG TO DIGITAL PROJECTION

"Ang buhay parang pumipila, laging forward lang."

Before, 35mm film is the heart of the movie but we bid goodbye to them as we are moving forward from analog to digital projection.

This is the machine for analog projection used by NCCC Cinemas before.

A film rewinder machine to rewind the film after playing it for use on next cinema

Analog materials are expensive. Before, distributors abroad are already paying high for shipping their film materials to different countries but still are not guaranteed a profit. Now, they can use hard drives that are less costly in forwarding to different theaters worldwide and if the film may not be that hit, profits are still expected since initial cost was not that expensive. 

Analog films can get scratches which affects the entire quality of the movie. Big advantages of digital print is that it never gets scratches or dirty during playback. And also, it is easy to create subtitles using digital print.

It was in 2012 that big distributors were pushed to jump into digital because of lesser cost and to gain much profit. And in 2013 all cinemas were required to convert to digital projection. So, 35mm film were no longer used.

Since cinemas are now on digital, cinema developer came up with a system that theater operations can be controlled in one system called TMS or Theater Management System.

TMS (Theater Management System) is a powerful tool that offers users a centralized point of control for an entire cineplex. 

Distributors will give a hard drive to theaters that will be used in TMS then TMS will play the movie in even one or more cinemas simultaneously.

TMS can also create a show playlists, like adding trailers, advertisement, basically a film lineup. It can also control local servers, sound systems, cinema lighting, and can even program different shows on different cinemas.

Only NCCC Cinemas and SM Cinemas are using this advance system.

Meanwhile, NCCC Cinemas and IMAX Theaters are the two cinemas that has 7.1 Dolby sound setup. NCCC Cinemas also boasts its  high-end, sanitized active 3D glasses. 

I get to experience watching a 3D movie only once. That was when Convergys treats its employees a movie date which shows Superman in Ayala Center Cebu. After watching the movie, I felt dizzy so that was when I started to disapprove watching 3D movies and just prefer those regular movies that are less expensive than 3Ds.

NCCC Cinema gets to let us try their active 3D glasses. I did not feel dizzy so I felt a sudden wanting to watch Storks in 3D with my nephews soon only in NCCC Cinemas since it is one of the three cinemas in the Philippines that uses active 3D glasses. The other two are Shangri-La and Rockwell. 

Thank you, NCCC Cinemas management, for letting us witness how technology evolved through the years. You always provide an exceptional movie experience to your audience.